


Rise, Fall

by bitsori



Category: Stray Kids (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Break Up, Dating, First Meetings, Implied Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27401944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: The average relationship progresses in three acts.
Relationships: Choi Yeonjun/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 5
Kudos: 48





	Rise, Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pinksense](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinksense/gifts).



> happy birthday **j** , ily! i wrote and finished this when we did a word sprint a few days ago and i wanted so bad to let you read it first so you can tell me if yj even remotely reads like him but i also wanted it to be a surprise lmao so. here it is! our personal crackship. ♥ again ily and i hope today is the greatest birthday!

  
  
  


The average relationship progresses in three acts.

First, there's the beginning. The meet cute—the _ introduction. _

Sparks don't automatically fly when Minho and Yeonjun first meet. Mild interest was maybe sparked when Yeonjun dropped by during the start of spring, right before university started back up, at the cat shelter where Minho volunteers at, but he was too busy cleaning out litter boxes to really pay attention to the visitor.

The second time they met was when Yeonjun arrived a couple of minutes late at the dance club meeting at the university. He sat at the back, but he stuck out like a sore thumb, thanks to not just his height but also the ridiculous shade of highlighter yellow that his hair was dyed in. He looked stupid, Minho had thought, but at least, with hair like that, he was never going to want for attention. (It wasn't until almost an hour later after the club orientation was over, and Yeonjun was laughing with some of the other freshman recruits that Minho realised he had been the same guy from the shelter, and his curiosity was doubly piqued.)

Funny enough, it wasn't until Changbin introduced them that Minho finally caught his name. He had made plans with his high school junior to go and grab a bite to eat and catch up (“We're going to the same university, hyung, and we've hardly seen each other over the last month ever since the term started!” Changbin had jibed, and Minho had rolled his eyes and pretended to be annoyed, but he caved eventually, knowing it was the younger's way of saying he missed him. “Okay, but you're treating,” he declared, even though they both knew Minho was, as always, going to end up shouldering the tab at the end of the meal), but Changbin had informed him that he needed to drop by the Engineering library first to drop off something for a classmate of his.

“Yeonjun and I split our problem set into two,” Changbin explains, as they waited by the steps of the building. “We were supposed to exchange answers earlier today, but I was running late and he had to go attend class,” he adds with a sheepish smile; Minho can only snort because  _ of course _ Changbin was running late — when was he not?

Much to Minho's surprise, he immediately recognised the familiar looking mop of yellow hair — overgrown black roots and all — that was quickly heading their way.

“Oi! You're late!” Changbin calls out at the guy, who does a quick double take at the sight of Minho himself.

“Sunbaenim!” he greets Minho with a quick bow first, much to Changbin's surprise.

“You know each other?” he asks.

“I'm in the dance club, idiot,” Yeonjun quips at him.

“Oh right.” Changbin nods and shrugs, before reiterating, “You're late.”

“And  _ you're _ one to talk,” Yeonjun huffs, his lips puckering in a big baby way that makes Minho have to hold up a snort. It helps that Yeonjun makes a point that he wholeheartedly agrees with.

Changbin grunts and shoves a binder into Yeonjun's hands. “Whatever, here's my part of the answers,” he huffs. “Did you finish yours?”

“Of course,” Yeonjun grins cheekily; he lets his backpack slide off his arm a little so he can unzip it and take out a pink binder, which Minho assumes is  _ his _ part of the problem set.

“That's cheating,” Minho comments, but there's no real bite to his tone, just light teasing because he and his friends aren't above splitting up workload themselves. He's of the staunch belief that the only real way one can get through university is through group effort. He just wanted to say something — to butt into the conversation just because he can.

Yeonjun laughs, and turns to direct his grin at Minho. “When you have gifts, it's only pertinent to share them, right?”

He says it in such a confident tone, that Minho doesn't bother hiding his laughter this time around.

Two hours and an entire dinner with Changbin later, he manages to obtain Yeonjun's contact details from his long time friend and junior.

“Yeonjun?” Changbin had grimaced even as he scrolled down his phone book. “Hyung, really? Why?”

Minho simply laughed. “Well—why not?”

  
  
  


Next, comes the good part. The meat of the relationship. The dating—the honeymoon phase that either crashes and burns at the end or makes way to a more stable connection. Next comes the awareness of feelings—at the very least, the awareness of  _ attraction. _

With Minho and Yeonjun, things kind of just fall into place. Minho texts Yeonjun, and Yeonjun texts back, and soon enough the two of them are exchanging messages quite often — a feat, since Minho has never really been the type to text a lot. He's a call over text kind of man, but he doesn't mind it so much with Yeonjun even though half of the younger male's messages come in the form of really corny dad jokes and ridiculous (read: vaguely horny) pick-up lines.

“I'll see you for lunch later,” Minho messages him once, the day after they make plans to have a meal together at one of the university cafeterias.

“Sure, hyung. I'm about to shower and head out now,” is Yeonjun's simple response.

“Okay,” Minho sends back, and he assumes that that's all there is for now, so he's surprised when, while he's waiting at the bus stop, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and Yeonjun's name flashes on screen when he checks.

_ Three (3) New Messages. _

Yeonjun: Not really trying to turn you on or anything but    
Yeonjun: Just so you know   
Yeonjun: I shower naked 

The messages are followed with the eyes emoji, and it's so dumb but Minho ends up laughing out loud anyway. In public.  _ At the bus stop _ —which earns him the weird stares of everyone else around him. And it would be embarrassing considering the stop is pretty packed that morning, but he's Minho, so he doesn't really care.

The flirtation (and then  _ some) _ goes on for a while—a month, then two, then three.

Frankly, it doesn't even really reach three before Minho brings Yeonjun home to his apartment. The dance club had gone out drinking, so the two of them are a little buzzed — maybe more than a little, they both would admit, but the night is also quite sharp and vivid for both of them, so they're at least sure that they both still have all their wits on them.

By now, Minho has long discovered that Yeonjun's lips are almost always a little chapped; when they kiss, it makes Minho all the more eager to lick into his mouth — to mark and wet Yeonjun's lips with his own until they look puffy and thoroughly kissed, and slightly spit slick from his own doing.

Nothing is different that night—except for the fact that neither of them don't stop at just kissing; they don't stop at wandering hands, nor do they stop once their clothes are off. They kiss, they grope—they mark each other, and more.

Yeonjun is all limbs—tall and lanky, and sharp joints and edges, whereas Minho is stockier; squishy in some parts, blunter when it comes to his edges. It's pretty telling of their general dynamic; they're so different in many ways, opposite in how they react to the world, but they fit just fine anyway. Not perfectly—far from perfectly—but well enough to make each other feel really good.

In the morning, they find Minho's oldest cat, Soonie, curled up and resting on Yeonjun's bare chest. Minho is the one who wakes up first and he almost laughs out loud at the sight — he would have, too, if he hadn't remembered to reign it in because Yeonjun is still asleep. Not that it matters anyway, because Soonie wakes up in that same moment, and after a brief stare off with Minho, he mewls loudly before snarling and abruptly jumping off Yeonjun and the bed.

"Ow—" Yeonjun hisses, sleepy but now awake thanks to the little feline's actions. He rubs his chest, and Minho can't help but stare at his naked figure — which is how he notices the reddening scratch his cat left.

_ Oops. _

“I think he likes you,” he comments cheekily..

“Your cat scratched me.”

“To wake you up because he knows I'm awake now.”

Yeonjun squints at him. “I don't get the logic.”

Minho laughs. “The point is— _ I _ like you, too.”

  
  
  


Finally—well, as they say, all good things eventually come to an end.

Minho never really understood that; if you have a good thing, there's no point in letting it go—but it's a well known idiom so he accepts that there must be some truth to it.

Yeonjun generally finds the saying stupid.

Still, it happens even to them, and they reach that inevitable point.

“So, this is it?” Yeonjun asks.

They're seated outside the dance studio at school, cross legged on the floor of the hallway. Practice ended an hour ago, but here they are, drinking canned iced tea from the vending machine down the hall, and sharing a big bag of potato chips.

It's a strange scene for a break up, but it is what it is.

“This is it,” Minho agrees.

There's a pause—a very pregnant silence that should make both of them very uncomfortable. All things considered, they had a good run. More than half a year of fooling around, and building something together. Yeonjun thinks it's unfortunate that they have to break up right before Christmas, but even he could tell that they both checked out of the relationship weeks ago.

Minho is sad because the sex was pretty good, but when it came down to it, the more they stayed together, the more it became obvious that they were pieces of a puzzle that simply didn't fit. 

Yeonjun was a star—at least he wanted to be one; he thrived on attention, and he ran people down with charm and wit. He deserved someone who would give him the validation he craved and, well,  _ deserved _ . Minho just wanted someone who would fill all the cracks and spaces in his soul; someone who would blend into his life naturally without him asking for it—and without the other person asking for more. 

That wasn't going to be Yeonjun.

“So,” Yeonjun clears his throat, an obvious attempt to break the awkward silence; he looks like he's doing his best not to cry but he is also surprisingly holding steadfast, succeeding at not letting tears fall. To be fair, it probably helps that Minho's eyes are completely dry; he never was one for crying—or showing too many emotions in general.

Still, his glossy eyes make Minho feel like he should comfort him—but Minho also knows that's probably not the best thing to do when you're ending things with someone. But then, the words that come out of Yeonjun's mouth next are, “Who gets Changbin after this divorce?”

It's dumb, and silly — but as usual, it makes Minho laugh like an idiot anyway.

And just like this, they both know they're going to be okay.

  
  
  


++

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](http://twitter.com/hanmings) // [cc](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho)


End file.
